The Strongest Will
by Ily20
Summary: In a situation when you need to choose to protect or be protected for the ones you treasure, what would you choose?. In the Endo period Takaba Akihito makes a decision that changes his life completely. Honor, respect, love and a strong will are his principles. "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."


In my defense, I was left unsupervised and that's why I wrote this. I'm sorry if this makes you cringe or something like that; I wanted to write and was like 'it might be fun meh'. You are free to criticize this as much as you want, I repeat, it might be uncomfortable to read.

 **I don't own any character of Yamane Ayano.**

* * *

 **The Strongest Will**

" _I'm sorry Takaba-kun, it's just that it doesn't feel alright anymore…"_

" _You are not like the rest of men here, I'm sorry…"_

" _That boy is young and handsome but he won't get married if he keeps up with that hobby…"_

" _He brings dishonor to his family…"_

Akihito is a young man on his mid-twenties, a very talented man where his domain remains in his hands with a beautiful imagination. A beautiful sheet of paper is the witness of such talent, a very beautiful stroke of paint is sealed on it. Sometimes he walks around the town with a sheet of paper and a small feather and ink, drawing endless types of mountains and rivers; he doesn't need anything else more than a few tools to make a beautiful piece of art.

His blonde hair is very attracting and many people thinks that he might be foreign, but they are wrong. He is only a Japanese man that loves his family and spending time in the middle of nature, like a forest or sitting in front of a small lake, he is often seen by many young women that swears he shed tears once in a while when he is drawing, and he smiles softly at the canvas he paints.

His family is like any other, a woman that owns a small bakery where you can go and taste the most delicious bread that resides in that small town. His father is a painter as well and is very kind with everyone, he sells his paintings and almost every house inside of the town owns a painting of him. The Takaba's are very nice people, kind and very intelligent, often considered one of the most valuable families inside of that small town. The head of the family, Takaba Haruo it is as well one of the best warriors that served to the emperor inside of the army against those who tempted on invading Japan. He is recognized as "Haruo the strategist warrior" because of the last war where he lead his own group to the victory by his own merit, a man capable of being loyal and bringing honor to the village and his family. One of the best samurai's inside of the country and a very recognized man between the _diamyos_ of the closer towns.

Akihito knows about the ongoing rumors inside of the town, he walks on the dusty streets while covering his feet in black pumps and his dark blue kimono wrapped tightly around his body. He has in his bag a few sheet of papers and a feather with ink, he walks and pretends that the eyes of everyone aren't resting on his person. It might be possible that the cause of many stares is the red mark on his cheek, a silhouette of a hand is printed on his left cheek. His ex girlfriend wasn't happy when it was the first month anniversary and he didn't painted anything for her, he is very talented just like his father but many people is greedy about his paintings and wishes on having a personal made.

He finally reaches his house and opens the door, his house is very delicate and fairly clean, a small botanical garden is in the back of the house where his mother takes care of it every day. He smells the inside of the house and there is a sweet scent of baking where he guesses that his mother is making one of those rice cookies that he loves so much, they melt inside of his mouth and they sell at the speed of light every time she makes them. They aren't rich but at least they have some commodities, he walks inside of the kitchen and greets his mother which earns a concerned look at the red color in his left cheek.

"Son, don't tell me that Chihoko-chan got angry with you. She is very kind." The mother, Takaba Sayori places a warm towel and presses it against his cheek.

"It wasn't working mom," he says and sighs at the warm towel caressing his skin, "where's dad?" he asks. She looks at him with love in her brown eyes and smiles when Akihito places one of his drawings on the table, a beautiful white flower with big dark green leaves is covering the entire sheet.

"He is besides the fountain," she says while checking the stone oven. Akihito gets up and walks out of the kitchen. He walks through the botanical garden and loves to see that many of the herbs are growing healthy; he opens the door that leads to the small fountain and sees his dad reading a book below a sakura tree.

"Hey there" he says while sitting beside him in the grass, "how are you feeling?" asks Akihito.

"Actually much better than last week, there hasn't been any fever since yesterday." He stops reading and sees the red mark on the cheek of his son. "I'm glad it didn't work she was fake but, you need to get married soon." His father says and smirks when Akihito laughs whole heartedly.

"It's nice that I'm not the only one that noticed, she asked me for a drawing and told me that if I couldn't make it then you should do it," he sighs and closes his eyes while knowing that his father was shocked at hearing those words. "I'll get married when I feel like it; I want to find someone that mother and you approve." His father hummed in response and changed the topic.

"I drew for your mom when I was your age, she is the only one that I have given something from the bottom of my heart without making requests, she cried when I handed her the paint." He smiles at remembering how she practically cried and kissed him at the same time. It was the best gift she had ever received or so she says.

"What did you draw?" he asks, "it must have been something nice." His father was about to answer but some noises from the street catches their attention. His father leaves the book on the grass and opens the door that leads them to the main street; Akihito walks behind him in curiosity of the horse neigh outside.

"My name is Kirishima Kei, I'm here looking for Takaba Haruo," He says on the top of a brown horse, he wears a kimono and a big sword. The man looked intimidating and his big frame combined with the deep voice and his short hair, he even wears glasses.

"I'm Takaba Haruo" says Akihito's father; his son has a bad feeling about all this.

"The emperor orders your presence in the next troop against a foreign army," the man on top of the horse handed him a sheet of paper signed by the shogun and the emperor, "you must leave the village and go to the next one closer to the west, the camp will be reunited in that village with all the men from each town. You must be there tomorrow at dawn; we will part as soon the sun is up." The samurai walks further in to the village and gives the same document to the other men that served before in the army.

Akihito is about to stop the man from leaving and explain that his father is gravely ill, however he remembers that if he does that then he will bring dishonor to the family by his behavior. He doesn't care and still walks pass to his father but Haruo stops him.

"If you say something to a samurai like him then he might kill you," his father says while clutching his chest, there's a extreme coughing that makes his father put a hand on Akihito's shoulder for support.

"Father let's go back," says Akihito while grabbing the waist of his father and helping him on getting inside of the house. All the people that watched the exchange looked pitifully at the Takaba's, even they knew that Haruo can't go to war if he is in that state, he is being sick since one year ago and there hasn't been that much progress in getting healthier.

* * *

It was time for dinner and Akihito sits on the ground with his parents, the three of them are quiet while the tension in the room speaks for them. His mother wears a sad expression while looking at the food and his father eats like nothing is wrong but quiet nonetheless. They are a very cheerful family and no one would believe that such expressions are in their faces right now, his mother looks young and his father as well but due to the recent viruses around the villages his father has fallen sick and even he looks a little older than he is.

"When are you leaving?" she asks, her hair bun is almost falling and her chestnut hair looks messy. She has her eyes a little bit red and Akihito knows that she has been crying since the soldier came here with the document.

"Tomorrow in the morning, I'll take Gaia with me." He says and looked surprised at their son, who punches the table with his cup and almost breaks it.

"You can't go." Akihito says with gritted teeth, "You can't even hold a sword."

"There's no option, I'm going and I need to bring honor to our family." He says while drinking his own cup, his mother furrow her brows and looks sadly at Akihito.

"What is your problem?!" says the blonde, "do you even understand what you are saying? Honor doesn't mean anything if you die when you know that you can't save yourself. We don't need reputation if it means that we are letting you go to your grave" Akihito grips the cups and looks at his father straight to his eyes.

"Stop Akihito," he says in warning low voice.

"I'm not going to sit here and see you making this decision, you are not going." Akihito says and looks at his mother which is crying silently.

"And what? Your mother can't go and you can't even hold a sword, actually you can't even hold any weapon. Don't get in the way Akihito, if you want to do something useful then get married and support your family." He gets up and leaves the room, leaving his son and his wife alone.

His mother sniffs a little and Akihito gets up, he can't stays there while feigning being at peace with the entire situation. Akihito stops and turns to look at the back of his mother.

"Will you let him go just like that?" he says looking at her.

"If he disobeys the orders of the shogun and the emperor, then he might go to jail and our family will be portrayed as the worst. Son, don't even think for a second that I'm fine with it." She cries and covers her face, she doesn't say anything and only stands up and leaves the room.

"What should I do…?" Akihito mutters, _"He is correct at saying that I can't do anything more than just drawing."_ Akihito thinks while walking out of the room.

* * *

It's around midnight when he notices a faint candle light in the storage room, there he sees his father. He is holding a katana and makes a lunge while stretching his arm with the heavy piece of iron which seize is around one meter long, he can't stand the pain in his shoulder and the katana drops to the floor. Akihito looks at the scene with concerned eyes; his father is kneeling on the floor while pressing his hand on the pained shoulder. Apparently Haruo feels a presence closer to him and turns to look if someone is there, Akihito takes that moment to hide himself while pressing to the wall and walk away barefoot.

"I know you are there" says his father and the footsteps stop. "Akihito" he orders. The blonde turns and walks in the dark room, the two candles can't do much against the dark but it does nothing to cut the tension in the room.

"I'm sorry for what I said" says his father, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know you didn't mean it," says Akihito while grabbing the katana that was in the floor and looks at it sadly, "I don't know how to use this." He says quietly and his father notices that his son is talking more to himself than to him. " However… I will not send you to die in the battlefield." Akihito grabs the katana and the _saya._

"Akihito…" says his father while grabbing the katana from his hands, "I need you to take care of the family. I'll try my best to come back alive." His father smiles and he holds his breath for a second, "I hope so" says Akihito while hugging him. He is about to say something else to convince his father but a sudden thought stops him from doing so.

Akihito walks around four in the morning, reaching all his valuables that might be useful to where he is going. He grabs his clothes and his favorite feather that he uses to draw, he looks around his room and sighs nostalgic about his recent decision.

"This is for the best" he says while grabbing a bag and putting it on his shoulder, he closes the door of his room and walks towards the storage room. It was dark and completely silent inside of the house, he chooses to walk barefoot so he won't make any noise. He enters the room and sees the samurai's clothes of his father, his katana and a medal. He grabs the katana and the medal; on top of the clothing he leaves a note. He suppresses the tears while closing the door of his house, and walks to where their horse is.

"Hey Gaia," he says while caressing the beautiful brown with white mare. She is strong and the only one they own, the other animals are chickens and cows. They are best friends and Gaia pushes her head against Akihito's hands, she notices that the man has a saddle and she turns for him to put it on her.

"We are going to a trip Gaia, it's a little far and I don't know when we will come back." He says while setting the saddle on her, they walk to the exit and Akihito can't look back. He gets up on the mare and starts walking to the west. They will take around two hours to get to the next village on a fast pace, Akihito sighs but with his chin up he knows that is the best decision he could make.

" _Akihito remember that it doesn't matter what happens in the future, you must protect what you love and embrace your principles along the way."_

He breathes deeply and signals Giro to run, _"I'll protect what I love the most father, even if I need to sacrifice my life for it."_

"Haruo" she moves his husband when she hears the front door of the house clicking shut.

"It's time already" he says when he watches through the window the sky getting clearer, "It's already late but I'll make it if we run with Gaia." He gets up from the bed and walks to the storage room to grab his bag where his equipment is.

He gasps when he notices that none of the things are where he left them, he runs to where Gaia sleeps and she wasn't there. His hands turn into fists and taking a last chance he runs to Akihito's room, it's empty. Sayori notices that something is off and walks to the storage room as well when she notices that her husband is there, she looks at a piece of paper that is on the clothes.

Haruo is kneeling against the floor with eyes covered in anger and sadness, she tries to read the letter and through the tears she reads. Haruo listens at the words that he already read and a silent tear falls on the floor.

" _Someone told me once to protect what I love, that person protected us many times before and not only us, he protected a country as well. I might not be the right for this position but I'll do what my principle tells me to do, this time, I'll be the one to bring honor to the family. I love you father and mother. "_

 _-Akihito._

* * *

"There isn't seem to be any recent activity around the borders," the commandant hears the general speaking, "is it really necessary to gather the best soldiers of each village for this?"

"It is," he says with a deep voice, "it's necessary to be prepared for anything that may happen around here, the emperor gave the orders and the other commandants in the country gave their approvals. We will control the third group while the commandant Kazuhiko takes the first one."

"Our group is small in comparison to the other two," says the general while pushing his glasses up, "why do we need to stay back if we have the best soldiers?"

"Because indeed we are a small group of hundred men, which isn't enough to be in the front lines, we will be the reinforcement of the other two commandants."

"If Kazuhiko is leading the first one and we are in charge of the third one, then who the other commandant is?" he was afraid of asking that question but he had a gut feeling that he won't like the answer.

"Sakazaki" he says in a monotone voice, "he is the second commandant." The commandant gets up from the chair and walks to the end of the tent, "it's time to start Kirishima." The commandant grabs his katana and places it around his waist, his red Kimono and armor is hugging his body while the general wears a blue kimono with only the katana.

"Yes sir." Kirishima pushes the cloth to let the commandant walks through, and then he walks behind him.

"Gentlemen" says Kirishima when he notices that many soldiers were in a messy state inside of their own tents. All of them heard the voice of the man that recruited most of them; they immediately put their shoes and dressed properly while making a line. Kirishima started on reading the names of each soldier that were supposed to be there already. He went through the names and each of them answered, until his voice wasn't responded by the receptor.

"Takaba Haruo" says Kirishima. The silence around the camp is heavy.

"Takaba Haruo" he says again but no one answers. "What's wrong?" asks the commandant when he notices that Kirishima furrows his brows.

"He is the strategist" he says while checking through the men, "the one that organized the troops in the last battlefield," he sighs and pushes his glasses up. "He will get mad."

"Who will get mad?" says a man behind the general and the commandant, the leader of the three commandants.

All the men that were in the camp straightened their backs and watched at the intimidating man, a broad back and a deep voice echoed in the open field. His golden eyes scanned every men and turned to look at the general, "who is missing?" he asks.

"Takaba Haruo, he is the famous strategist of the south village and helped the latest commandant to organize the troops in the last battle against the north." The leader hums at the answer and was about to talk when a loud yell catches their attention. A high pitched voice echoed through the camp.

"Slow down! Gaia!" yells someone, "Come on girl!" he yells again but the mare that said man was riding was running scared. The mare runs faster down the hill where the camp is and almost crashes against a tent.

"Gaia!" he yells again when the mare runs to where the men were.

"Step back!" yelled the general and he was about to reach for his sword until the leader stopped his hand from reaching out the katana.

Gaia made a sudden stop when she sees the big man in front of her without moving, even if she was running like crazy the man didn't move at all. Akihito grabs the reins of her and tries to stop her forcefully but it was futile, he fell from the horse and crashed against the one of the tents.

The leader grabs the reins of the horse and tries to calm her while stroking the scalp and her front head, she sees the eyes and listens to the voice of the man. A couple of seconds more she is calm and fairly tired.

"Who are you?" asks the commandant while pointing his sword to the young man that crashed against one of the tent, he even got his clothes stained with mud. It wasn't his lucky day.

"I-I'm Takaba Akihito" he says in a scared voice when he sees the big man pointing a sword to his neck, "I was recruited" he says while showing the man the paper that Kirishima handed to his father. They checked it and it was the original, "you weren't recruited, your father was."

"I'm his replacement. I'm his son and I've been his apprentice all my life." Akihito remains in the ground while he looks at the three men that look at him with distrust.

"The document doesn't say anything against replacements." The commandant says while reading through it.

"He can't stay" says the general looking at the young man, "he doesn't look like a warrior and he is not his father." The general turns his head to look away and the commandant does the same, they say their dissaprovement loudly so the young man can hear.

"I might not be my father but I'm capable just like any other men here." Akihito gets up faster. "I can be the best soldier in this camp but I won't be the same as my father, nor his shadow or his replica. My name is Takaba Akihito and I'm willing to serve and protect my country."

The three men looked at him with surprised eyes, a small blonde young man rise his voice against them and everyone looked at him with mocking eyes.

" _How can someone like him be in the army?"_

" _He is ridiculous"_

" _He doesn't look like a soldier"_

" _He is Takaba Haruo's son? He doesn't look like it."_

The whispers among the other men were rather loud and Akihito tried to pay no mind at them, he only looked at the three men in front of them with a decisive stare.

"Silence" the deep voice resounded, "replacements aren't prohibited." The leader takes out his sword and lifts it to point the lips of the young man. "Takaba Akihito, you are going to duel with me." The leader says and walks to the middle of the camp where all the men were watching.

"Sir he might not be Haruo but any men is useful enough in a battle against our enemies. A dead man isn't something we want on the first day of training." The commandant talks to the leader but the receptor doesn't even reply.

Takaba Akihito walks to the center of the camp as well and his heart is beating so hard and fast that it hurts, the adrenaline it's at its maximum. His hands are trembling and the sight of such a powerful man isn't helping at all.

"His katana is huge" he mutters when he notices the saya of the man. As if reading his thoughts he smirks and asks for one of the men that were watching a simple katana.

"Takaba Akihito" he says again and smirks at seeing the nervous young man in front of him. "I'll give you the chance to attack first." He says while holding the katana on his right hand, the grass above its moving because of the early wind and Akihito tries to stop trembling.

" _It's ok, you can do it."_ He thoughts while reaching out for his katana, _"It's not a duel to death right?"_ he thinks when he walks to where the big man is. He swings the katana with his two hands and swings it in front of his face, the leader only takes a step back and looks bored at the simple attack. _"Ah damn it, I missed."_

"You can't grab a katana like that; your father didn't teach you how to do it?" He mocks at the young man. The response of Akihito is another swing of his katana to the leg of the leader but he missed, just like every time during the five minutes they have been fighting. _"I keep missing every time."_ His thoughts are interrupted when a stingy feeling runs through his inner thigh.

"Ouch!" he exclaims and touched the place where his leg is bleeding, he looks at the cut and it's very small. He isn't bleeding that much.

"You are not made for being in the army" says the leader while pushing him to the ground with a kick on the stomach, "you will die in seconds." The leader looks at him from above and the young man looks in anger and defiance at him. "What? Scared enough to keep trying?" the leader raises his katana to push it against the chest of Takaba.

The leader raises the katana and was about to push it against the chest of Akihito until a pain ran through his leg, Takaba Akihito grabbed his katana when the man looked away for a second. "That's it" he says and grazed the calf with his katana.

The leader looks down and notices that a drop of blood is running through his skin, he smirks.

"You are not giving up?" asks the leader while placing his katana under the neck of the blonde.

"I'm not" Akihito grabs the katana and pushes it away from his neck with his bare hands, he is gripping it strongly and the leader is only pushing it closer to the thin neck. The leader looks at the eyes of Akihito and is satisfied with what he sees there, 'resistance and strong of will'.

The leader gets up and returns the katana to the men that gave it to him; he turns to where Akihito is sitting on the ground and stretches his hand to the face of the blonde. The sun is up and it's already time to leave the reunion point.

"Get up." He says and Akihito looks at him with a little of distrust. "I won't do anything, get up." The blonde obeys and gets up. "What happened with your mare?" asks the man with a deep voice and Akihito looks at him embarrassed.

"She saw a snake and lost control" he blushes when he remembers that he practically yelled like a girl and everyone heard him.

"Kirishima" he says and the general gets closer, "change the name of Haruo to Akihito." The leader says while arranging the brown kimono he was wearing, his own katana is around his waist and without repeating himself he waits the response of the general.

"Yes sir." Kirishima looks a little displeased at the sudden turns of events but stays quiet.

"Let's start." Says the commandant a little amused at the last events.

"Gentlemen form a line." The commandant orders while walking in front of each man, Takaba Akihito was the last one in the line but with his chin up.

"My name is Suoh Kazumi." The commandant with his red kimono says in a loud voice.

"Your general is Kirishima Kei." He says while signaling the man and they bowed at him.

"The leader of the three commandants, a strategist and one of the strongest soldiers in the country, our leader Asami Ryuichi."

All of the men bowed and the commandant and the general as well, but someone was way too surprised to do the same. He couldn't believe that he just fought against that person.

"Holy shit" says the blonde when everyone remained quiet. The men looked at him with the most shocked expression and tried to suppress a laugh when the general started to scold him because of his language and his poor show of respect. Takaba Akihito blushed deeply when he noticed that the man Asami Ryuichi smirked at the reaction _, "in what did I get myself into?"_ Akihito thinks while seeing all the best soldiers looking at him.

* * *

A/T: Saya: It's where you guard the katana.

Damyo: Are one of the richest person in a village or a town, they are closer to the shogun and they can be called as soldiers.

I know this reminded you to a famous cartoonist movie, Thanks for reading!


End file.
